17U Takes Center Stage Memorial Day Weekend

Chicago, Hampton, and Sioux Falls! The big venues for Minnesota teams this extended Memorial Day weekend. Many will be enjoying the beautiful weather but some of Minnesota’s best have big things on the line on the court.

We start local because, after all, we do live in Minnesota. And in Minnesota the UA Memorial Day Hoop Fest will take place. The Main Event is Grassroots Sizzle’s 17u team playing their alumni squad at 4pm at the Midtown YWCA on Lake. If you want to see Jalen Suggs, Dain Dainja, Terry Lockett, Chet Holmgren, and the rest of the crew play this is your local chance. Also, it’s your chance to hit up THE BEST concession stand I’ve ever attended. So if you look food and talented basketball players be there Saturday.

Three and a half hours south the SPTS finals will be played. Some teams have been playing for six straight weeks, others five weekends out of six. It’s tough but this weekend we see who is in this to grind out victories. The heavy favorites are of course the Minnesota Fury and the Omaha Crusaders Adidas squad that recently met in an overtime game with the Fury winning. Those teams look to be headed on a crash course BUT there are teams that are hoping to pull the upset. Teams like Wear Out the Net, Heat MacDonald, and Comets Lewis will try to pull the upset. WOTN actually beat Fury Wilde and Comets Lewis recently, and the Comets are dealing with some injuries, but these teams still have talent to pull the upset.

Heading east this weekend to Hampton, Virginia is the EYBL Session Four. The final chance for teams to qualify for the Peach Jam. Howard Pulley warmed up last weekend – and I guess for the last five straight weekends overall – preparing to make their push to the big event in July. They won six of seven weekend games and now they take a 4-8 mark into Hampton hoping to go 4-0 to squeeze into the Peach Jam field. The Peach Jam is 24 of the 40 teams in the league and to make it Howard Pulley is assumed to need four wins. The opponents are Expressions Elite (8-4) in game one, Team Why Not (5-7) in game two, The Family (4-8) in game three, and Team United (5-7) in game four. Expressions will play that first game knowing that a win surely gets them in to the Peach Jam. The rest of the opponents will have their back to the wall just like the Panthers do.

D1 Minnesota is in the Adidas Regional Qualifier in Chicago along with other top Adidas teams like Indiana Elite, Ohio Basketball Club, Team Knight, EG10, Team Rose, and others. Also in the event are local Minnesota Adidas Silver squads 44 Elite and Mentality Minnesota as well as a few other familiar locals like Wisconsin Crusaders, Ray Allen Select, and the Team Carroll Premier squad out of Missouri that Comets K beat (not to be confused with the Team Carroll Premier squad out of Alabama, an EYBL team ranked nationally).

Also in Chicago is the Chicago Classic (which is hosting the Adidas event as well). The open division of the Chicago Classic has both UVA teams, 43 Hoops, and Minnesota Heat Nelson.